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Sunday, November 30, 2014

St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland. St and it is his flag that symbolizes Scotland. St. Andrew's Day is celebrated on November 30th. St. Andrew is also the patron saint of Romania, Greece, and Russia, probably because it is believed that he preached around the shores of the Black Sea.

Who was St. Andrew? He was a fisherman, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and a brother of St. Peter (founder of the Church). Scottish people used this connection to appeal to the Pope for protection from the English kings who sought to conquer them. This Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320 and asserted Scotland's independence from England.

Why St. Andrew? Legend is that a Greek monk had a vision to safeguard some relics of St. Andrew and he took them as far away as he could, to the coast of Fife. This is where the town of St. Andrews is located. Also in 832 AD the Picts were battling the Angles of Northumbria and on the day of the battle a Saltire, an x-shaped cross, appeared in the sky above the battlefield and the Picts were victorious.

Where did the St. Andrew's Cross come from? It is believed that St. Andrew died on an X-shaped cross at Patras in Greece.

St. Andrew is the patron saint of fishmongers, old maids, women wishing to become mothers, spinsters, singers, sore throats, and gout.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

William Longley is my mother's 10th great-grandfather. He seems to have problems with his neighbors, the related families of Haven and Newhall. Richard Haven and his wife, Susanna (Newhall) Haven are my father's 8th great-grandparents. Susanna's husband and brothers, Thomas, Jr., and John, share their stories about altercations with William Longley in the excerpts below from The Essex Genealogist, Vol. 15. First Richard Haven threatened William Longley with a cudgel and accused Longley of harming his hogs. After grabbing his beard and threatening to spill his blood, Haven mocked Longley's cries and said he was foaming at the mouth. "The Longley and Haven families lived next to each other and had frequent altercations. In February of 1662 William Longley sued Richard Haven for coming on his land...and abusing him in words and deeds. Mary Longley, aged about 19 years, deposed: "Last summer Richard Haven came to me and asked where my father was; and I perceived that he was angry by his countenance and by his carriage. I told him I would not tell him where he was, and said Haven said I will find him and went over the rails into our lot. I saw him break off a great cudgel and go at a great pace up the lot. Fearing he would do my father some mischief, I followed him, and then I met Daniel Mathews and requested him to go with me til we came near to my father sowing turnip seed in his own lot. Haven said to my father why dids't thou lame my hogs,' and I saw Haven take my father by the beard and said 'I could find in my heart to spill thy heart blood upon the ground thou rogue thou.' My father answered...'the Lord will avenge my wrongs one day,' and the said Haven said 'Hark how he cries aloud to his God, and foames at the mouth.'"

About a year later, William Longley accused Thomas Newhall, Jr. of striking Longley's wife. Thomas Newhall, Jr., was the brother-in-law of Richard Haven. There appears to be enough blame on both sides as Longley's daughters and wife attacked Newhall with stones and a broad axe. The jury appears to have believed Longley's account that Longley's wife was struck with the pole after a tussle between the Longley women and the Newhall men.

"In March of 1663, William Longley sued Thomas Newhall, Jr. for striking his (Longley's) wife. Thomas had been asked to hold a pole in running the boundary line between the property of William Longley and John Newhall (Thomas's brother). Longley's two daughters were said to have thrown stones at him and one of the daughters struck him with a pole, while Longley's wife struck at him with a broad axe. If he had not slipped he would have been wounded if not killed. The adverse testimony set forth that Newhall was holding one end of a long pole, with Longley's wife and daughters the other end, "and the women were too hard for the man in pulling so much that the said Newhall called his brother John and they two together pulled the pole from the said women, and then Thomas Newhall struck Longley's wife with the pole. A verdict against Newhall was brought in."William Longley - 11th great-grandfatherHannah LongleyThomas TarbellElizabeth TarbellSybil WillardSamuel HaskellMartha HaskellMary "Sally" HoughtonFlorilla DunhamNina King EllingwoodAnnie Florilla GibbsFern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother - Dad's sideRichard Haven - 9th great-grandfatherMary HavenNathaniel TarboxBenjamin TarboxJedidiah Tarbox (female)Patience SmithSarah ShepardLaura E. EmmonsEstes Gilbert YatesLinona Alice Yates - my grandmother - Mom's sideThomas Newhall, Jr. - brother of my 9th great-grandmother, Susanna Newhall. Susanna Newhall was married to Richard Haven (above).

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

I will begin this post with a major caveat; I have not gone through the process to prove my connection to these lines with the Mayflower Society in an official way. Furthermore, some lines are still in the preliminary research stages when new evidence could easily break the connection I believe is present. It is interesting that both of my grandmothers have significantly more Mayflower ancestors than my grandfathers.Maternal Lines: Yates & BlakeJohn Alden - Yates - Elizabeth Alden - Mary Pabodie - Mercy Southworth - Alice Soule -Diman Perry - Abigail Perry - Betsy Judkins - Apphia Delphinia Cole - George Hayes - Eva Delphinia Hayes - Linona Alice Yates

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Harriett May Blake was the daughter of Charles Galen and Isabelle (Brown) Blake. She was born on November 24, 1886 and died on October 9, 1957. She never married but is the mother of my grandfather, Clayton Leonard Blake. She is buried with her parents and brothers in the East Bethel Cemetery.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Rev. Freeman Yates was my first cousin, 4 times removed. He was the son of William & Dorcas (Hall) Yates, and the grandson of William & Martha (Morgan) Yates, my fourth great-grandparents. The 19th century featured many reform movements but one of the strongest and longest lasting was the temperance movement, a precursor to the era of Prohibition of the 1920s. Maine was the first state to ban alcohol thanks to temperance reformer, Neal Dow. While researching my Yates ancestors I came upon the following article about a speech that Freeman Yates gave on the subject.

Wisconsin Free Democrat (Milwaukee, WI), Wednesday, January 28, 1952, Vol. 8, Issue 8, Page 2. The Maine Liquor Law – No. 5 - Accessed on GenealogyBank, June 19, 2013Remarks from the National Temperance Convention held at Saratoga Springs on the 20th of August, 1851. The Rev. Freeman Yates, editor of the Gardiner Fountain, spoke as follows:“Under the old law, we could not get evidence. Men who drank would perjure themselves. The whole system of grog-selling was one of deceit and fraud. We formed a law to meet the enemy in every quarter. Mr. Dow received suggestions in his work from all parts of the State. But our Governor vetoed the bill on its first passage. The veto was his winding-sheet. This year it was passed by a two-third vote, and Governor Hubbard gave it his assent. I will show you its operation in Augusta, which has been called the great rum-hole of the State. (Here Mr. Yates read an extract from the Augusta Age which declared that every hotel and liquor shop had voluntarily cleared itself of the forbidden article.) In Bangor, said Mr. Yates, they have met with a most serious difficulty in carrying out the law. The director of the almshouse has usually employed sixty men, the victims of strong drink, to get in the hay. This year, these have been so scarce that he had to hire a set of sober men, at the city’s charge, or not have the hay gathered. (He then read from a Bath paper to show the operation of the law there.)…We hear nothing in Maine now, for mere moral suasion. All good men are for protection by law. Even the drunkards are with us; and they thank us, for removing the temptation, and that they now live and die sober men.”

I'm not convinced that the drunkards were thankful for removing the temptation. It also makes me chuckle that the almshouse now had to find sober men to get in the hay because drunk men were so scarce.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Thomas Herrick was the oldest son of Henry & Editha (Laskin) Herrick and the older brother of my 9th great-grandfather, Zachariah Herrick. He seems to have been the black sheep of the family. He was left a legacy in his father's will but would only receive it if he met the stated conditions. He was left out of his brother Benjamin's will, although all the other Herrick siblings received a portion of the estate. So why was Thomas ostracized by his family? It seems his father wanted him to "not live his life as a single man." His father died in 1670 when Thomas was about 35 years old. Several of his younger brothers were already married - Zachariah at age 18, Ephraim at age 23, Henry at age 23, Joseph at age 20, and only brothers John, age 20, and Benjamin, age 14, were also unmarried when their father died. What did Thomas stand to lose by not marrying? The will states, "Also I give unto my soon Thomas all my wearing appaearell except my best great coat & that 20 acres of land where his house standeth, with ten pounds to be payed to my soon John wn my executor seethe need to supply his wants, And if in case he live and dye a single pson, the lands shall remain to my sons Ephraim & Joseph, equally devided & the ten pounds to my son Beanjamin if not make use of to supply him."

At some point Thomas did marry but I have not found a record of the date. There is a description of a divorce petition in the Essex Quarter Court records dated November 26, 1673. It seems to imply that the marriage had not been a long one.

Divorce of Thomas & Hannah (Ordway) Herrick:Whereas Hannah, the reputed wife of Thomas Herrick, at the last Ipswich court, preferred an account against said Thomas, accusing him of impotency, after some deliberation and testimony, court adjudged said marriage between said Thomas Herrick and Hannah Ordaway null and void. She was given her liberty as if such pretended marriage had never been, and he was to return to said Hannah as much as he had received of her, or of her father or other friends in way of marriage portion; she was to make no further claim to his estate. [EQC 5:252).I do not know if this "marriage" was enough for Thomas to gain his inheritance or not. My Herrick line is:Henry Herrick & Editha LaskinZachariah Herrick & Mary DodgeSarah Herrick & Samuel MorganLuke Morgan & Ruth StoneLuke Morgan & Martha PulciferSamuel Morgan & Judith DennenMartha Morgan & William YatesMoses Yates & Martha WhittleGilbert Yates & Laura EmmonsEstes Yates & Eva HayesLinona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Elias Mellen Carter was born on September 11, 1811 and was my third great-grandfather. He was the youngest son of Dr. Timothy & Frances (Freeland) Carter. He was reportedly not happy to be the one chosen to take over the farm but he did it because that it needed to be done. He married Irish immigrant, Rebecca Williamson and they had eleven children. I have written about their family before a few times and their lives were certainly not easy (see the links below).

Home of 7 generations of Carters, including Elias Mellen Carter

This time I will focus on the sketch of Elias Mellen Carter in William B. Lapham's History of Bethel. The author recalls that Elias always lived at the farm in Middle Intervale and was the "squire" of the little village and recognized as its best man. The sketch professes that he was a man of "sound judgement and unwavering integrity" and a man possessing "candor, impartiality, and legal acumen." Although he was a farmer, he was very involved in public affairs. He was a town clerk, a selectman, a Representative to the state legislature, a County Commissioner, and a long-time Justice of the Peace. He is listed in town records as having performed numerous marriage ceremonies. The sketch ends with the author noting that Elias "was exceedingly popular with all classes." Elias M. Carter died on November 17, 1880.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Elizabeth Newhall was my 1st cousin, 10 times, removed. I descend from her father's sister, Susanna (Newhall) Haven. She died when she was just two years old when she fell into a pit and drowned. Her three older brothers were Thomas Newhall (the 3rd so-named, age 12), John Newhall (age 10), and Joseph Newhall (age 7). It is a bit unclear whether they are three sons who used the pit to keep alewives for fishing or if it was her father and his two brothers, Francis and John, sons of her grandfather, Thomas Newhall, the immigrant. There were so many dangers of life in colonial times and losing a young girl to an accident seems especially tragic.

Daughter of Thomas Newhall, Jr. The death by drowning of Thomas Newhall's daughter Elizabeth in November of 1665 was a tragedy that resulted in litigation. The distraught father, Thomas Newhall, brought suit against George Keaser "for damage he sustained by his digging a pit to the loss of his child." The little girl, just two years old, had been out of her mother's sight for half an hour or more, when she was found by the wife of Robert Potter and the wife of John Newhall, floating on the water of a pit near her home, dead. The pit had originally been dug by George Keaser as a tan vat, and Newhall claimed he had left it open. Testimony, however, showed that the pit had been drained by the Keasers, and had been reopened and filled with water (to keep alewives for fishing) by the three sons of Thomas Newhall, and the verdict was for the defendant. ~ The Essex Genealogist, 1995, Vol. 15, p. 42

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Abishag Walton must have married mariner Robert Taprill between 1659 and 1663. In 1672 the Taprills were living in a house in Boston that belonged to Mr. William Waldron. The house was purchased by Mr. Waldron's brother, Alexander and when Alexander Waldron died in 1676, he willed the house, land and two gold rings to Mrs. Taprill. The house and land was to revert back to William Waldron after the death of Abishag Taprill.

The name Abishag comes from the Bible where Abishag was a young woman who tends to King David in his old age. Another site describes her role as "a bed companion to David in the hope that her fresh beauty might induce some warmth in the old man."

Abishag seems to have been the primary support for her family and her husband, Robert, was often at sea and contributed very little, it at all, to the family's support. One time Abishag even had to borrow money to keep Robert out of jail.

Eventually she moved back to Great Island where her father built a home and a shop for her. Robert Taprill died in November 1678 while on a voyage on the "Providence." Unfortunately, Abishag died in January 1679 and it's possible she hadn't even received word of her husband's death at that point. Before he died he told some of his crew that he hoped his wife would find a better husband and that she had maintained and clothed him. Alice's father, George Walton, took care of her children until he did in 1685.

Children of Robert & Abishag (Walton) Taprill:

Alice appears in her grandfather's will and in the local records in 1685 when she was suspected of having had an illegitimate child.

Priscilla appears in her grandfather's will and married Francis Caswell and died before 1714 when her husband married again.

Grace appears in her grandfather's will and inherited her mother's house on Great Island. She was presented for having an illegitimate child in 1700. She fled the jurisdiction of the court and when she returned a year later, she named John Tomson of Kittery as the child's father and was fined £2:10. She later married Israel Hoyt.